April 13 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, as part of
his plan to reduce the nation’s long-term debt, will propose
cutting $400 billion from the Pentagon’s budget through the 2023
fiscal year, extending cuts beyond those sought by Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, a person familiar with the plan said.

Gates met with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the
Oval Office yesterday afternoon to discuss the president’s plan.
Gates proposed in January cutting $78 billion from defense
spending over five years, amid pressure to curb trillion-dollar
federal deficits.

Over the next five years, the administration forecasts the
government will pile up a cumulative deficit of $3.8 trillion;
over the decade, the cumulative deficits would rise to $7.2
trillion. In addition to defense cuts, Obama will propose three
other main components to reduce the debt, according to a White
House statement: holding down domestic spending, curbing health-care costs and closing tax loopholes. The administration has
released no details.

Obama is scheduled to deliver an address this afternoon at
George Washington University in the capital as the
administration prepares for a fight with congressional
Republicans over raising the government’s debt limit and as the
president is trying to frame the debate for his 2012 re-election
campaign.

Cutting Costs

The planned $400 billion in cuts would be spread out
through fiscal 2023.

Gates said last month the budget discipline he has imposed
will leave the Defense Department in a “good place” and he
didn’t foresee the need to put “other major programs on the
block for the next year or two.”

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, including
House Speaker John Boehner, met with the president this morning
at the White House for a preview of the speech.

Obama will outline reductions in entitlement spending and
increased taxes on the wealthy while seeking to draw a sharp
contrast with Republican proposals, according to another person
familiar with the plan. He’ll draw on the findings of the
Simpson-Bowles debt commission, including overhauling the tax
code to bring in more revenue, and proposals he has already set
out in his 2012 budget.